By Mr Hull's Movie Guides
Watch the Trailer
What's Inside the Guide
This is a 12-page classroom-ready resource.
Three differentiated sets of questions in chronological order. Answer keys are included.
- 40 question set requiring full sentence answers.
- 30 full sentence question set.
- 30 multiple choice question set. The multiple choice set works well with ESL and ELL students.
Students write three diary entries from Brendan's point of view at different points in the story, giving them a first person creative writing task tied directly to the plot.
Students draw a nine scene storyboard of what they consider the most important parts of the movie, with a brief description for each scene.
“Perfect for St. Patrick's Day! My students loved learning about the history behind the Book of Kells while watching this beautifully animated film.”
— Christina N. (TPT Seller)
“Great resource to use with this movie. The questions were at an appropriate level for my students and easy to follow along with the movie.”
— Alixe A.
Why Watch This Movie With Your Students
Here's what your students naturally take away from the movie, whether through themes, values, ideas, or perspectives.
📜 The movie is inspired by the real Book of Kells, a genuine medieval manuscript still on display today. The story imagines an origin for the actual illuminated Gospel manuscript housed at Trinity College Dublin. Students get a fictional window into a real historical artifact and the tradition of illumination that produced it.
⚔️ Brendan's uncle Cellach believes walls and discipline are the only way to survive the Viking threat. Cellach's single minded focus on fortifying the abbey puts him in direct conflict with Brendan's growing fascination with Aidan's book. Their disagreement gives students two competing, understandable views of what safety requires.
🐺 Brendan's journey into the forest draws directly on Irish mythology and folklore. Aisling, the forest spirit who helps Brendan, and Crom Cruach, the serpent god he must face, are rooted in pre-Christian Irish legend. The movie weaves this mythology into its story rather than treating it as decoration.
🎨 Brendan discovers a talent for illumination that puts him at odds with what his uncle expects of him. Aidan recognizes Brendan's gift and mentors him in the meticulous, disciplined art of manuscript illustration. That mentor relationship gives students a clear example of someone being pushed to develop a skill their family does not initially value.
🎬 The movie's animation style is unlike most mainstream animated features, drawn in flat, geometric shapes influenced by medieval manuscript art. Its visual style was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Students get to see an animated movie that looks nothing like typical CGI family films, and that difference is worth talking about on its own.
🏰 The story builds toward a real historical threat, the Viking raids on Irish monasteries. As the Northmen close in on Kells, the movie ties its fantasy elements to a documented period of Irish history when monasteries were repeatedly targeted for their wealth. Students get a way into medieval Irish history through a story rather than a textbook.
Age Suitability and Content
This movie is rated PG (UK).
⚠️ Things to be aware of:
- Viking raiders attack the abbey with swords and fire, and villagers are shown frightened as buildings burn.
- A main character is struck by a flaming arrow and later stabbed, though neither is shown in graphic detail.
- A pack of wolves and a monstrous pagan serpent god appear in tense, frightening scenes set in the forest.
- No sexual content, strong language, or substance use.
📋 A free editable parent permission slip is available for this movie. It explains the educational benefits of watching movies in class and includes a space for parental consent. → Download Free Permission Slip on TpT (Free resource)
Note for educators: Movie details and age ratings in this post are sourced from IMDb, Common Sense Media, and Wikipedia to help ensure accuracy.
How My Movie Guide Helps You Teach It
Click your subject below to see how this guide supports it:
📚 English Language Arts Teachers
🌐 Social Studies Teachers
🎬 Substitute Teachers and Cover Lessons
🏠 Homeschool Parents
🎨 Art Teachers
💙 SEL Teachers
📜 History Teachers
🌟 Supporting All Learners A movie gives students a story to follow, and the guide gives them questions to work through as they watch. For students with autism, learning difficulties, and mild to severe disabilities, that combination provides a clear focus for the lesson and a concrete way to show understanding. The format can be useful in special education and learning support classrooms, where teachers need activities that give students a defined task during viewing. Find out more about why movies work for diverse learners.
How These Guides Work: From Movie to Lesson
Watching a movie is not a break from learning. It reaches students through sight, sound, and story at once, engaging the brain in ways text alone does not, and the structured work around it is what turns the viewing into a genuine lesson. You can read the research behind this on the Why Movies Work page.
- A Teacher Notes and General Directions page opens the guide with a brief overview of everything inside: what the movie is about, then each part of the guide in order with a short description of what it entails. You know what to expect from the whole resource before you hand out a single page, so you can pick up the guide cold and teach it the same day.
- Answer keys are included for the comprehension question sets, so grading is quick and you are not rewatching the movie to check answers. Some guides also include example answers for the creative and written activities.
- Print and go: classroom ready, with no additional preparation needed. Print one the morning you need it and the lesson is ready.
- Substitute and first-timer friendly. A guide can be handed to a substitute or picked up by a teacher covering the topic for the first time. Nobody running the session needs to have seen the movie.
- Differentiated comprehension sets. Most guides include two or three question sets at different difficulty levels, and most include a multiple-choice option that works well for ESL and ELL students. One class set covers your strongest readers, your strugglers, and your language learners without separate prep.
- Activities that go beyond recall. Each guide includes structured activities that ask students to engage with the movie, not just watch it, ranging from creative and written tasks to discussion and critical thinking questions depending on the guide. That variety matters in a mixed classroom: a student who freezes on a written question set may show real understanding through a drawing or a creative task, and a confident writer gets room to go beyond recall. For the teacher, it turns a movie session into work you can grade: comprehension questions show whether students followed the plot, and the activities beyond them show whether they understood it.
